Charlize Theron: The Adoption Process Was Difficult

New mom Charlize Theron and Twilight star Kristen Stewart look stunning on the cover of Interview‘s June/July issue. The Snow White and the Huntsman costars open up about their new film and family life.

Charlize, on starting a family: “You can’t really be too calculated about everything in life. I think I’ve gone through my life with the understanding that you’ve got to let go and you can’t think that you’re going to control your destiny … That’s why I’ve never had a five-year plan. I always knew that I wanted to have children. It wasn’t kind of something that I discovered later. I also never felt the biological clock ticking because I think I always knew that I wanted to adopt. It never meant that I didn’t want to have my own children—I always felt that if I were in the right circumstances then I would totally have my own children.”Charlize, on the letter she wrote at 8-years-old about wanting to adopt: “I think back then it was more like I wanted to adopt a baby to be my sibling, but even at that age, I had this awareness of adoption, so this wasn’t a last-minute thought. It was something that was always under my skin, that I knew would be a part of my life, and, to be honest with you, when I decided to start filing, it was very clear. It was like I knew that this was exactly what it needed to be. So then you go through the process, and it’s tough. It’s not the easiest process—and then again, I’ve never liked things too easy in life. But it emotionally knocks you out. It’s a really difficult thing to experience, but I never once faltered and thought that I didn’t want to go through with it. You kind of go through situations that don’t work out, and then all of a sudden you have this baby in your hands and you forget about all of that. You forget about the last three years of your life. You just realize that everything unfolded exactly the way it was supposed to unfold . . . Wow, I just went on forever there.”

Charlize, on her son Jackson & motherhood: “He’s great. I’ve been doing things myself in the sense that I haven’t had a night nurse or anything like that, so I’ve spent every night with him except for the nights that I’ve had to travel. I’ve had to make two trips to New York and one really quick trip to London and Paris, but other than that, I’ve been with him every single night of his life and done every feed. A girlfriend of mine was like, “Why are you doing this? Get somebody to help you!” But the truth is that I’ve realized how little sleep I actually need. There’s nothing about it that actually makes me want to moan. I actually love it, and when I’m not doing it, I really miss it. I was joking to my girl- friend. I said, “I want to do it because when he’s older, this is all I will have to hold over him!” I can’t do what my mother did, which is tell me every single day of my life about her labor and how long it was and how it was 36 hours of hell . . .”

Kristen, on staying in the family business: “Well, my mom has now actually written and directed a movie, so her approach to it all changed very quickly. [laughs] But I was an extra a couple times, and I thought that was fun—it was something to do to get you out of school. And then when I first started auditioning, as I said, I didn’t get anything for a long time, so when I finally did get The Safety of Objects, it was like I discovered something. It was an experience where I felt something and tapped into something and got a part, so it was like, “Well, I guess that’s how you get a part.” I mean, it just sounds really obvious to every actor. Yeah, of course you have to really feel it. But it’s not so obvious to someone so young.”